The Last Ship Review: Tropic of Cancer (Season 5 Episode 4)
In an otherwise strong episode of The Last Ship, the shocking moment at the end feels, unfortunately, a bit tone deaf.
The most important reveal on The Last Ship Season 5 Episode 4, “Tropic of Cancer,” is that Alisha’s girlfriend, Kelsey, was responsible for carrying out the cyber attack — and she used Alisha Granderson to do it.
The clues were there, from the very beginning, if only because we were seeing so much of the two of them together and Kelsey’s calls to Alisha.
The idea that the attack was carried out through something as simple as a key card is both surprising and haunting, and for it to be Granderson that’s used in that way — one of the few officers who we’ve seen grow and move through the ranks from the first season — could have held tremendous potential for more storyline.
You see it already in the moments when she figures it out. There’s a complexity there of feeling betrayed yet responsible, not to mention, hurt.
Sadly, we don’t see how much more that could be played out. We’re used to losing characters on this show, and it’s been clear all along that no one is safe. But Alisha’s apparent death, in the current climate and with the discussions around the Bury Your Gays trope — feels unacceptable.
It’s also a missed opportunity because having Kelsey be the one responsible for the attack could have been such an interesting conflict for Alisha to deal with long-term.
Of course, now, it will presumably be more difficult for the Navy to figure out exactly what happened, and the concern will be if they’ll think Alisha herself was responsible.
Elsewhere, the team on the Nathan James is fighting a battle, proving Master Chief’s statement that odds don’t mean much when it comes to this particular ship. They hold their ground, but there’s something humbling about seeing the ship take such an awful hit.
Kara and Chandler disagree on how to proceed, with Chandler wanting to push harder and Kara knowing when it’s time to turn back. That is probably the highlight of this episode, for me personally, is seeing Kara stand up to Chandler.
She’s the captain of the ship now, and that makes it her call.
Hers is also clearly the right one, as Chandler admits later, also telling her she fought the ship well. It’s a nice moment between the two of them.
The team on the ground is just as exciting to watch. They’re all badass and they all have each others’ backs no matter what. When Wolf is injured, Danny takes a major risk to get to him, complete with a flashy tumble to scoop Wolf up onto his back.
The way all of these characters work together is key, and it’s always the thing that sets them apart.
What did you think of this episode of The Last Ship? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Last Ship airs Sundays at 9/8c on TNT.
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Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
2 comments
Oh f— off.
Excuse my language, but once again we have to endure the idiotic cattle-call that a character should have been treated better/differently just because she represents one or more tickbox categories amongst a show’s cast. Once again you only want the good, beneficial parts of ‘dramatic equality’, but complain about equal application of any of the less favorable parts (such as being equally able to be killed off, just like any other supporting characters). You can try and justify it any way you want, but it is a hollow, entitled, bullshit argument to make. And one that only ever gets trotted out when a character who conveniently fits in certain tickbox categories comes to any sort of onscreen grief.
Preferential equality isn’t a thing, so stop trying to make it a thing. Because all of us who have fought for greater diversity and more varied representation for years are sick of having idiots like you poisoning the well with your unrealistic and ultimately destructive protectionist demands and straw man conspiracy arguments. Grow up, and learn to identify the fights worth fighting, rather than concocting inane and insipid new ones. Because there are still some fights that need fighting. This isn’t even close to one of them.
@ Disillusioned Debutante
It’s a well-known trope that is pretty prevalent in series where characters die and there are LGBT characters. I don’t even have horse in the race, but it’s obvious enough that it disrupts the narrative of many shows.
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